


On Being a Godfather

by ScreechBat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Baby Harry, Gen, Godfather Sirius, idk what to tag this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-09 11:03:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4346069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScreechBat/pseuds/ScreechBat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Sirius hadn't been framed for murder? A screaming infant could make him wish he had been...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pet project of mine I've been toying with the idea of for a while. Please keep in mind this is just a short intro so anyone who might want to read further can get a taste for my writing style and the idea behind the plot. Thanks for reading, CC is appreciated!

It was on October 31st, 1981 at 4 o’clock in the morning that Sirius Black found himself sitting in the grass in Godric’s Hollow with a sleeping infant wrapped in his leather jacket and tears streaming silently down his face. It felt as though a gaping wound had been opened in his chest allowing the cold autumn air to filter into his body, caressing his bones and making him tremble. He knew it wasn’t the cold…James and Lily were gone. Behind the waves of shock and grief that wracked the man’s body he felt bitter resentment. How could they leave him like this? They were both capable wizards surely they could’ve defended themselves! Sirius had no idea how to care for an infant! A one year old son and they had to be foolish and stick their necks out like that! They had always been brave, James to a fault, but Evans had more sense than that, or at least he thought so. 

The Aurors had informed Sirius that James had been found away from Lily and Harry. He must’ve been trying to protect them. He was too proud, thought Sirius, if he’d only run with them they might’ve made it. Finally, once his body had ceased shaking so violently and his tears ebbed to a manageable rate Sirius hoisted himself off the dew frosted ground. The child in his arms hardly stirred. Sirius stared at the fragile life that now relied entirely on him and he felt his heart cascade into the pit of his stomach. He hoped he could do this, Raising a happy, healthy child seemed like a task far too noble for the outcast to take on. But the longer he stared at young Harry the more his resolve to persevere grew. He loved James and Lily and he loved their son just the same.

Sirius could not bring himself to enter the wrecked home to retrieve Harry’s things but entrusted the task of delivery to the team of Aurors cleaning up the scene. After making sure Harry would be secure and warm against his godfather’s chest Sirius started up the bewitched motorbike on which he arrived and took off into the night toward home. When they arrived at the small country cottage, Sirius carefully carried the newest tenant inside. Harry was awake now and squirming ceaselessly. Sirius resigned himself to getting no sleep this time and sat down with the complaining infant on his lap.

The home was not a mansion, and it was merely a shack compared to the size of 12 Grimmauld place. But it sat a few miles outside a safe village on a picturesque hill and they would be happy and safe here. Sirius had bought the home off of an old wizard who was looking to come into some extra money before doing some travelling to study unorthodox potion making methods. He could sell some things to make room in the spare bedroom and put Harry’s nursery in there. Sirius moved Harry onto the carpet so he could move about and leaned back with a heavy sigh. He would need to contact Remus soon and make sure he knew what had happened, maybe he could help figure out what to do about Harry.

“I’m going to take good care of you.” Sirius said looking at the infant exploring his living room floor. “I promise.”

Obviously the words meant nothing to the baby who immediately collapsed onto the rug and started screaming. Sirius stood quickly, cracking his knee against the coffee table in the process, and scooped the wailing Harry into his arms.

“What could possibly be worth all the noise?” Sirius pleaded. “What am I saying? You’ve got every reason to cry…I bet your mum would know what to do.” He spoke as he carried his godchild into the small kitchen. “Prongs would probably be as useless as me, never knew what to do when someone was crying.” He opened the refrigerator and peered in. It was mostly empty, he’d need to do some shopping. “Porridge it is..”

Harry’s screeching only got louder.


	2. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with the overwhelming urge to shut down over his best friends death, Sirius is force to overcome his own feelings for the sake of Harry.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Prongs!” Sirius laughed as James presented his newest scheme to win the affections of a certain Lily Evans.

“It’s fool proof Pads,” James exclaimed, “I’ll bust in with flowers and sweets she’ll nev--“

“Alright, James,” Sirius interrupted, “but did you stop to think how McGonagall is going to react to you interrupting class?” He was red in the face from holding back laughter. James sat before him with his shirt misbuttoned and his tie, in its signature Gryffindor colors, was tied haphazardly around his head making his jet black hair even more unruly than usual. Dipping into his own stash of contraband Fire Whiskey was James’ way of dealing with, what seemed like, the millionth rejection from his beloved Lily. Sirius would never say so until his friend sobered up but, it was hilarious.

“S’not like she’ll do anything horrible to me!” James slurred in reply.

“She could take you out of your next match.”

“Right,” James snorted, “‘Gonagall wants to see Slytherin wiped out too much for - _hic_ \- that!”

“Okay, buddy.” Sirius had to admit, his drunken friend had a point. McGonagall would do just about anything to see Gryffindor kick Slytherin into next week on the quidditch pitch. “Why don’t we get you to bed?”

Sirius’ eyes snapped open at the sound of a baby’s cry. It took a moment for his eyesight to adjust to the watery light filtering through his bedroom window before he saw the small, squirming child beside him. Why was there a baby in his bed? What was going on? The last thing he remembered was helping James—oh, Merlin. It was a dream. A lovely figment of his imagination mingling with, now painful, memories.

His entire body felt too heavy and every joint ached as if it had rusted over. Harry continued to cry, his shock of jet black hair just visible beyond the mound of blankets meant to keep him in place. The ministry had yet to deliver his crib, something about it being crucial evidence that needed looking over, so for safety’s sake the infant slept in Sirius’ bed. Sirius lay still listening to Harry’s complaints until he could gather up enough of his, suddenly lacking, energy to sit up and move Harry into his lap. He sat the baby on his thigh, propping him up against his torso while simultaneously propping himself up against the wall at the head of the bed. Harry continued to whine but his all-out screaming had stopped.

Sirius looked down at the red-faced infant and felt his heart skip unevenly. It was a shock, looking at a baby who looked just like his lost friends. Wide green eyes from his mother, and that untamable mess of raven hair. He shook his head, Sirius knew he needed to remember that Harry was his own person. He was not a replacement for James or Lily. That was the only thing he was sure of. He looked at the clock across the room and sighed. Remus would be here soon enough, Sirius had spoken to him via floo powder last night.

Years of deciphering the subtle emotional cues from Remus had told Sirius that, behind a controlled external reaction, he was hurting just as much as Sirius. He assumed Remus was trying to be strong for the both of them. Since they had met, Remus had always felt the need to put up a front for Sirius. He said it had something to do with a muggle psychology book his mother had given him. Apparently Sirius could be described as “unpredictable” and “easily overwhelmed” when it came to things of a sensitive nature.

Harry squealed, forcefully tearing Sirius from his thoughts. He’d forgotten the child was there. How had he forgotten he was holding an infant? That was a rather important bit of information, wasn’t it?! Sirius forced himself to focus. His own problems weren’t the priority right now. He needed to take care of the baby. Sirius cradled Harry against his shoulder and slowly, painfully, moved out of bed. The next couple hours were spent cleaning up young Harry, making sure he was fed, cleaning him up once more, and finally placing him on the carpet to play. Sirius had just lowered himself into his chair when there was a startling rap at the door of his cottage.

Sirius groaned inwardly. He hadn’t even had a moment to make himself look in any way qualified to be taking care of a baby. With a sigh he rose and crossed the room to the door. He hesitated with his hand on the knob. What if it wasn’t Remus? Sirius had thought about this in the night, someone could be sent to finish what had been started at any moment. Harry wasn’t safe with someone who just opened their door willy-nilly with every ring of the bell! He snapped out of his internal panic when a familiar voice on the other side of the door called out.

“Padfoot..? You’re home aren’t you?” It was Remus. Sirius opened the door slowly and what his friend saw was not at all reassuring. There the eldest Black son stood gaunt and pale, his shoulder length hair greasy and in tangles. The dark circles below his eyes were severe enough that Remus considered asking him if he’d been in a fight. Just beyond him was James and Lilly’s one year old son standing aided by his grip on the arm of a chair, staring with crystal clear green eyes at the door. It took only a moment for Remus’ eyes to mist over and he stepped forward embracing Sirius tightly. They were all the boy had now. With his parents dead and Peter gone missing, presumably something to do with the war, they would have to be his family.

Sirius bit back tears as Remus’ thin form trembled ever so slightly. He knew what his friend was thinking. The same thing that had run through his head non-stop since he sat in the grass in Godric’s Hollow…How were they supposed to do this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long! I also apologize that the chapter is only about 1k but, I wanted to get it out already! Thanks for reading CC appreciated.


	3. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome two new tenants to the little cottage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long!! It's not even long enough to justify such a long break. I've started college and things have gotten very busy very quickly.
> 
> CC Appreciated!

                “I’m staying.” Remus called from the kitchen where he was putting away the shopping.

 Just getting the supplies Sirius suddenly needed had been an ordeal. Diapers, baby food, more than a few toys that Sirius had insisted on, far more than either of them had really anticipated a baby required. Sirius entered the kitchen with Harry held to his chest. The baby’s head rested on his godfather’s shoulder sound asleep.  
  
                “You can’t, you’ve got too much to take care of an—“

“I haven’t got anything to take care of aside from you.”

“The Order needs you.”

“Sirius there’s nothing left to do. As far as The Order can tell he’s gone into hiding, maybe even died!”

Sirius stared at his friend wide eyed. He hadn’t heard any news since he picked up Harry. The only news he thought incredibly important at the time was that his friends were gone. It was wonderful nonetheless. He could raise Harry to his best ability. The boy wouldn’t have to grow up with a war raging around him. Sirius rested a hand on the back of Harry’s head protectively.

“What about Peter?” He said in a hushed voice.

Remus pursed his lips and busied himself with putting away some biscuits before he spoke. “He’s yet to be found.”

Sirius muttered a string of curse words under his breath that would make the Dark Lord himself wince. He had no taste for the man they once called a friend.  He refused to align himself with such traitorous swine. He was worth nothing more than the Rats one saw in the London streets. No pun intended. A sudden and startling series of knocks on the front door yanked Sirius from his vengeful muttering and he held tighter to the infant sleeping peacefully. Grey eyes wide as he faced the offending sound Sirius nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Remus had come around the counter.

“I’ll answer it.”

Sirius released a slow breath and nodded leaning back against a nearby cabinet. Probably for the best. Random visitors were going to be the end of him if he didn’t get ahold of himself. He’d need to let everyone know to call ahead. James and Lily had been caught unaware with a random visitor and it had been their end. He wouldn’t let Harry go that easily. He’d throw himself in front of anything that came for the boy. Suddenly he felt clearly what James must have felt that night. The Auror’s voice rang clearly in his thoughts:

_“His body was found at the stairs, well in front of his wife and child.”_

After a few moments of Sirius straining to hear the low rumbling voices coming from the other room, Remus reappeared. He held his arms out for the sleeping child and, even though Sirius knew no harm would come to the child he still hesitated before passing him over quizzically. Remus readjusted so the baby was propped up on his narrow hip and tilted his head toward the door.

“The Ministry’s had Harry’s things delivered. They’d like you to show them where to put it.” Remus noticed the hesitation but took no offense. Sirius had been through a lot. He’d probably be more concerned had Sirius just thrust the child into his arms. At least this way he knew Sirius was attached to this little boy. He’d never give him up, not without a fight.

“Right…” Sirius nodded and ran a hand through his hair trying to quickly make himself look at least sort of put together for the officials outside his door before exiting the kitchen. Once he heard Sirius speaking to the men outside Remus leaned back against the counter and looked down at Harry who had opened his emerald eyes and was peering quizzically toward the sound. The corner of Remus’ mouth twitched upward and he bounced the child slightly on his hip.

“He’s gone to get your toys.” He said tenderly. At the familiar word _‘toy’_ Harry’s gaze shifted up to Lupin excitedly. This made him smile a bit wider. “Yeah, we’ll have plenty to play with now aside from Padfoot’s hair..” The baby cooed and dropped his head against Remus’ shoulder as if in agreement.

It took nearly two hours to move the nursery in. Not only had Sirius completely neglected to move the collected oddities from his spare room until the very last possible moment but, for only one year old, Harry had seemed to have amassed quite the collection of belongings. After everything had been moved in it was Remus’ turn to take over. He hadn’t helped much in the way of moving things in and out of the room or into the cottage; opting, instead, to occupy Harry with games and stories so he wouldn’t be in the way. Now Sirius lay on the floor in the hall letting the baby use him as leverage as he waddled back and forth trying to peer into, what would soon be, his room. Sirius marveled at how quickly the child was growing. It seemed like only yesterday he’d been helping Moony hold down a panicked James Potter while his wife gave birth only a few rooms away.

That was a very clear memory. None of the family friends were allowed in the hospital room of course. Once James was allowed in one would’ve thought Sirius was the nervous expecting father the way he paced and gnawed at his nails. The vivid detail in which he recalled Prongs wheeling out an exhausted, yet pleased, Lily amazed even him. A motionless bundle of blue blankets held in her arms with that damnable shock of black hair jutting up off his forehead. James with his chest puffed out in a proud but fragile display of fatherhood. He knew James had hoped for a girl though, he wouldn’t admit it. He had confided in Sirius late one night only weeks after he had announced Lily’s pregnancy that something soft and gentle like a baby girl was exactly what he needed with his world on the cusp of war. Somehow, though, Sirius knew that even with the rough and tumble little boy he’d been blessed with. James was happy.

Sirius was startled from his reminiscing by a soft thud from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a very befuddled looking Harry sitting on the floor. He looked up at Sirius and immediately his lower lip begin to tremble.

“Oh, no. no no” Sirius began a fraction of a second too late. Harry opened his mouth and the wailing began. Always one for the attention whether he was hurt or not; just like his father.


End file.
